This specification relates generally to support devices. More particularly, the disclosure pertains to contoured pillows that are adjustable by a user.
Pillows are often used to support a part of a user's body during sleeping or resting. For example, pillows may be employed while sleeping on a bed or lying down on a couch to support a user's head, knees or legs. Pillows typically consist of a sealed fabric envelope having a soft stuffing or filling therein, such as down feathers or synthetic foam. The fabric envelope is typically covered with a pillowcase made of a cloth material.
Experts agree that the use of an appropriate pillow for sleeping is critical for good health. An incorrectly sized or shaped pillow may cause or exacerbate headaches, neck pain, arm numbness, breathing problems and/or sneezing.
Ideally, a pillow used to support the head and/or neck should help keep a user's head in a neutral alignment, where the user's head is positioned squarely on their shoulders without bending back too far or reaching too far forward. Pillows for supporting knees and/or legs should keep the spine in proper alignment, without putting unnecessary strain on the hip joint and lower back, while a user is lying on his or her back or side.
Unfortunately, conventional pillows are not adjustable. The fabric envelope is typically sealed such that a user may not access the filler material contained therein. Accordingly, a user of these pillows may need to purchase a new pillow if they change their sleeping position preference any time after a pillow purchase. Moreover, the filler material in conventional pillows may flatten, wear or weaken over time, resulting in a pillow that lacks proper support.
A number of adjustable pillows found in the prior art allow for pillow inserts or layers to be placed inside a pillowcase or shell. For example, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2013/0263377; U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,777; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0073056 disclose customizable pillows having several inserts that can be placed inside a shell to adjust the thickness of the pillow. However, these references disclose conventional pillows for supporting the head while sleeping or resting. None of the references disclose a multi-position adjustable pillow having a convex-shaped insert to conform to a user's knees and/or neck. Moreover, these references do not teach the use of multiple inserts made from materials of differing shape, height, density and/or firmness.
There is therefore a need for a multi-position adjustable pillow that allows a user to add or remove one or more internal support pieces to increase or decrease the height of the pillow. It would be beneficial if such a pillow included multiple inserts made from materials of differing firmness and/or differing shape to allow for optimum conformation to a user's head, neck and/or legs.